Information for Workers and Job Applicants

What you need to know

Workers or job applicants looking to work for a staffing agency or using the services of an employment or placement agency should only work with agencies that are properly licensed or registered. The Employment Agency Law and Temporary Workers Right to Know Law are designed to protect workers from unscrupulous business practices and safeguard their earnings. If you are working with an agency, be sure to ask for clarification by the agency if you are unsure of the nature of the employment relationship between you, the agency, and the employer with whom you are referred or placed.

If you are working for a staffing agency, here are some things that you should know:

Under the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law which applies only to staffing agencies, workers have a right to know the basic information about their job. The law requires staffing agencies to provide job applicants and workers with a job order containing basic information before going to a job, such as the staffing agency’s contact information; workers’ compensation carrier; the rate of pay for the job and the designated pay day; shift start and end time; details related to any meals or transportation; whether the position requires special clothing, tools, licenses, or training; and the name and address of the worksite employer. Job information may be given over the telephone as long as it is confirmed in writing before the end of the first pay period. A job order form with all required information may be accessed by clicking this sample job order. “Professionals,” “secretaries or administrative assistants” are not required to be provided the job order notice information under the law. You should receive written confirmation from the staffing agency of all of this information before the end of the first pay period.

Workers must be advised of their rights under the Temporary Workers; Right to Know Law. Staffing agencies must post a notice of the workers’ rights provided under this law, as well as the DLS’ contact information. You should see (Notice of Temporary Workers’ Rights under the TWRTK) posted in the staffing agency with which you are working.

Fees that a staffing agency or worksite employer can charge to job applicant or worker are covered by the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law. The law prohibits a staffing agency or work site employer from charging job applicants for workers for the following:

The cost of registering with the staffing agency or procuring employment.

The provision of a drug screen, bank/debit card or other form of payment that exceeds the actual cost per applicant.

A CORI request (Massachusetts criminal record information check as provided by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS).

Transportation costs which exceed the actual cost of the transportation, exceed 3% of total daily wages, or reduce wages below minimum wage. Additionally, if specific transportation services are required, no fees can be charged.

Any good or service (unless done under the terms of a written contract that makes clear that it is voluntary and for which the staffing agency will not profit from the fee charged)

Any good or service that would cause the applicant or employee to earn less than the minimum wage.

If you are sent to a work site for a job assignment where no job exists, your reasonable transportation costs to that work site must be refunded to you by the staffing agency. No transportation costs are required to be reimbursed if you are sent to a work site for a job interview.

Staffing agencies are prohibited from engaging in certain activities. Under the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law, staffing agencies may not:

Assign or place a job applicant or worker by force, fraud, or for illegal purposes; or where the employment is in violation of state or federal laws governing minimum wage, child labor, compulsory school attendance, required licensure or certification;

Assign or place a job applicant or worker at any location that is on strike or lockout without notifying the employee of this fact;

Refuse to return personal belongings or excessive fees or charges to a job applicant or worker upon request by the worker; or

Retaliate against a job applicant or worker for exercising his or her rights under the TWRTKL.

If you have a question or a complaint about a staffing agency, you may contact DLS. We can answer any questions you may have about these laws and their applicability.

If you are working with an employment agency, here are some things that you should know:

Employment agencies must provide certain information to job applicants, such as the name and address of the person for whom the applicant is to apply for employment, the kind and character of the employment, the anticipated rate of wages or compensation, the agency fee, whether such employment is permanent or temporary, etc. For more information on what needs to be furnished to a job applicant, see 454 CMR 26.07.

There are also limits on how much employment agencies can charge for applicant fees. An applicant fee is any money or other valuable consideration paid by an applicant or worker to the employment agency for employment procurement services rendered by the agency. Examples of fees may include, but are not limited to, money paid to an agency from the worker for a placement, and a modeling agency commission, or a “headhunting” fee charged by an employment agency to a job applicant for securing a permanent employment with a company. It is not legal for an employment agency to charge a job applicant a registration fee in order to secure the services of an agency. Any fees charged by an employment agency must be in accordance with a written contract, a copy of which must be provided to the job applicant. Visit 454 CMR 26.09 for more information about limitations on applicant fees.

Employment agencies are prohibited from engaging in certain conduct as outlined by the Employment Agency Law. For example, it is illegal for an employment agency to send any person to an employer where the employment agency knows, or reasonably should have known, that the prospective employment would be in violation of state or federal laws governing minimum wages or child labor. It is illegal for an employment agency to require that job applicants subscribe to any publication or incidental service or contribute to the cost of advertising, or to send any applicant to a place which the agency knows or should know is on strike unless the fact of such strike is told to the applicant. For more information about prohibited activities, see 454 CMR 26.12.

If you have a complaint about an agency, please contact Compliance Officer Rebecca Reese at (617) 626-6509 or Rebecca.reese@mass.gov.

Sample job order
If you are working for a staffing agency, you are required to be provided with the information contained in this form. The notice requirement does not apply to “professionals,” “secretaries or administrative assistants”.

Notice of Temporary Workers’ Rights under the TWRTK
Staffing agencies must post a multilingual notice of the workers’ rights provided under the Temporary Workers Right to Know (TWRTK) Law, as well as the DLS’ contact information, in a visible location at each of its office locations, in a form provided by the DLS.